With Alive! Kiss created one of the most exciting and essential live albums of all time. Its 1977 sequel, Alive II, failed to measure up for a variety of reasons--including, perversely, the inclusion of an album side of st... more &raquoudio material--and it took the band 15 years to return to the well once again. Alive III holds up surprisingly well, though that may be due to reduced expectations for a band that was nearing the end of its "unmasked" period, performing without makeup and without original members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. Still, Kiss have always excelled onstage, whether through genuine inspiration or mere professionalism. Alive III rocks the house with a generous 16-song selection of material that cuts the chaff from their weaker mid-period studio albums and doesn't neglect fan favorites such as "Rock and Roll All Nite," "Deuce," "Heaven's on Fire," and "Detroit Rock City." --Daniel Durchholz&laquo less

Synopsis

Amazon.com

With Alive! Kiss created one of the most exciting and essential live albums of all time. Its 1977 sequel, Alive II, failed to measure up for a variety of reasons--including, perversely, the inclusion of an album side of studio material--and it took the band 15 years to return to the well once again. Alive III holds up surprisingly well, though that may be due to reduced expectations for a band that was nearing the end of its "unmasked" period, performing without makeup and without original members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. Still, Kiss have always excelled onstage, whether through genuine inspiration or mere professionalism. Alive III rocks the house with a generous 16-song selection of material that cuts the chaff from their weaker mid-period studio albums and doesn't neglect fan favorites such as "Rock and Roll All Nite," "Deuce," "Heaven's on Fire," and "Detroit Rock City." --Daniel Durchholz

CD Reviews

Kiss - 'Alive III' (Mercury)

Mike Reed | USA | 03/10/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I give it 3 1/2 stars.A live CD that many of us never thought would see the light of day.'Alive III' was produced by long-time producer Eddie Kramer.A few old fans here and there might be a bit let down,but for the most part,'Alive III' is decent.Total of sixteen cuts,with a running time at 67:26 as there's just four early tunes here,"Deuce","Watchin' You","Detroit Rock City" and "Rock And Roll All Nite".That's okay.As for myself,I thoroughly enjoyed hearing the later material as well,"Unholy","Creatures Of The Night","Lick It Up" and "I Was Made For Loving You"(after all these years,I'm used to it anyway).No,'Alive III' isn't as great as the first 'Alive' record.But then again,did you really expect it to be?"

Kiss Kick Rock And Roll Butt

Y2bjs Reviews | Melbourne Australia | 08/15/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a very good live Cd from Kiss.At the time it was long overdue for a new alive album.Since this there is an alive 4.The best alive CD is Alive 1.But this captures Kiss without their makeup.Bruce Kulick was on lead here and did a mighty fine job.And on the skins was Eric Singer.Its a pity Eric Carr was on none of the alive albums,but did appear on Animalive which was just as good as an alive album.Eric Singer also did very well here.And Gene and Paul naturally did their stuff.In all this is quite a good cd,great listening from start to finish.I like the way it ends with Star Spangled Banner.Cool CD this."

OUTSTANDING SOUND QUALITY !

Johnny | Vermont | 12/21/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Kiss Alive III is by far the best for sound quaity and song seletion !

A great selection of songs and a rocking show !

Buy the cd and the DVD !"

Better than expected!

Tommy Morais | New Brunswick, Canada | 11/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Alive 2 wasnt up to the level of the original Alive!16years after Alive 3 come to stores whats worth the bait?EVERITHING this album is outstanding Alive 3 is basicly a live remake of the 80s kiss albums with a couple of kiss classics.They also included 4 songs from their last studio album`revenge`wich is great.Its not the great Alive but its good its does sound live.it includes songs from almost every 80s album exept a couple like unmasked,the elder and others.It doesnt excludes classics like detroit rock city,deuce,watching you and others but it focuses mainly on the 80s.Eric Singer does a great job at the drums so does Bruce Kulick at the guitar part his `star spangled banner`performance is very impresssive.There is 16 songs live from 1993 ,the booklet included has cool pictures inside.If you just listen to it then its not as good as on the`confidential and exposed`dvd wich includes most of the Alive3 concert,it looks amazing and they are performing at their best.Its a good value this album is outstanding!i love it.Maybe its not from the original lineup but its good anyway.a great effort on this live album.there is a missing song`take it off`that they did not include here.very recomended!"

Awesome!

Some Gravity | Indiana, USA | 08/03/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"ALIVE III(1993). KISS' third live record.

There have been several legendary bands out there-The Beatles,Aerosmith,Led Zeppelin,Van Halen,among others,and of course,there is KISS. KISS have put out several live records to this date-and how does their third live record,ALIVE III,measure up? Read on for my review of this:

This record,while it may not have been ALIVE I or Alive II,is the best career spanning live record KISS has ever put out. When KISS released this album in 1993,they had been big for exactly eighteen years,so even though Ace Frehley and Peter Criss were no longer accompanying Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley when this record was made(for those of you who are new to KISS,Frehley and Criss rejoined the group in 1996 and,at different times,both departed from the group in the early 00's),this live album still turned out really good. The lead guitarist in KISS when this album came out was Bruce Kulick,who,in my opinion,was the most talented out of the replacement guitarists KISS has ever had(the remaining replacement guitarists of KISS have been Vinnie Vincent,Mark St. John,and Tommy Thayer,who is their current guitarist)and Eric Singer was their drummer at the time(Singer is also currently their drummer. This album opens with the live version of CREATURES OF THE NIGHT,which sounds killer when it is performed live(Bruce Kulick's guitar work and Eric Singer's drumming on this track are both really good)and that is followed by the live version of DEUCE,a song off of KISS' first album--Bruce Kulick and Eric Singer may not be Ace Frehley or Peter Criss,and the KISS without make-up may not be the KISS without make-up,but both Kulick and Singer do quite a good job at accompanying Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley on this track,and the whole band performs with a lot of energy on this track. As for the other moments on here--well,Gene Simmons helps bring the live version of UNHOLY to life,you feel a little bit of "magic" when you hear I WAS MADE FOR LOVIN' YOU performed live(I know--Ace Frehley,Peter Criss,make-up,and costumes aren't accompanying Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley on this track-it may seem weird that I say there is magic on the live version of this track--but to me,it sounds true),Eric Singer does a great job at kicking off the live version of I LOVE IT LOUD with his drums just like Eric Carr did on the original studio version of that song on CREAUTURES OF THE NIGHT--in the meantime,the show closes nicely with Bruce Kulick performing STAR SPANGLED BANNER by himself on guitar(awesome job at the guitar part,Bruce!)--I really don't need to say more about this live album itself,but here's another bonus about it:the liner notes are VERY cool. They(the liner notes)feauture pictures of Gene Simmons,Paul Stanley,Bruce Kulick,and Eric Singer live and in concert(as well as a picture of them together--the pictures of them live and in concert are pictures of Simmons,Stanley,Kulick,and Singer standing away from each other)as well as other rare photos.You even get a thing that shows all of the bands Gene Simmons,Paul Stanley,Ace Frehley,Peter Criss,Eric Carr,Vinnie Vincent,Mark St. John,Bruce Kulick,and Eric Singer were in before/after KISS,the people who they were in the bands with,as well as lines that show what band a certain band member went to after they had left a certain band--now how cool is that?? Very Cool!!

Overall,an excellent live record. The only reason why I am knocking off one star here is because when KISS released this live record overseas,they included a live performance of the song TAKE IT OFF that originally appreared on REVENGE,but they did NOT include the live version of that song here--VERY irritating for loyal and die-hard KISS fans living in America. But otherwise,everything else here meausures up pretty well--check this live album out. You won't be dissapointed."